A good tooth shade is an assurance of a beautiful, bright smile. Many people make an appointment at a dental clinic to have a dental restoration or just to have their teeth whitened. Choosing the ideal color, which most closely resembles a natural tooth, is not always easy. Prosthodontists in dental laboratories, in partnership with dentists, help you choose the shade that most closely resembles your teeth. Dentists use products and materials such as dental shades for implants to provide comfort and to increase the success rate of the operation. Many dental clinics use the best tooth shade materials and products to make the choice easier when fixing the prosthesis.
Here is a guide that will help you learn more about tooth tinting, its origin, its consequences and the solutions to have beautiful white teeth.
What is the natural shade of a tooth ?
Only baby teeth are white in color, due to the low level of dentin surrounding them. Dentin is ivory in color, but it darkens throughout our lives. The color of teeth changes with age and eating habits. Tartar changes the color of teeth: It is therefore necessary to have a good oral health. Some medications and fluoride also change the initial color of teeth. Avoid excessive consumption of coffee, tea or tobacco.
If it is still possible, have your teeth whitened. Missing, broken or damaged teeth require dental implants in restorative dentistry.
Superficial discoloration of the tooth can disappear after scaling. You must have excellent oral hygiene to avoid plaque, which is the cause of any discoloration of the teeth. Lighten your teeth as much as you can, as long as you still have natural teeth.
What are the factors that affect the natural color of teeth ?
Some stains are superficial and do not alter the mineral structure of the tooth. These are mainly superficial stains of the tooth. Sometimes, a simple scaling and air polishing are enough to remove them. On the other hand, they can sometimes recur if the causal agent is not eliminated. It is therefore in this case that it is necessary to stain the teeth.
It is therefore necessary to stain the teeth in the following cases:
- Food staining of the teeth : These are brown stains due to coffee, tea or soda. They appear in the form of fine pigmented films. They are found on the external surfaces of the upper molars and the internal surfaces of the lower incisors.
- Microbial staining of the teeth : These appear as green bands from yellow-green to dark green on the front teeth. The agents involved are fluorescent bacteria that grow only in the presence of light. They are also black or orange.
- Staining due to the use of illicit substances : Drugs cause dark brown or black discoloration. They are usually visible on all your teeth. The amount of staining will depend largely on your oral hygiene and surface roughness.
What is tooth staining ?
Tooth staining is a rather common phenomenon with various origins. Although not very aesthetic, stains on the teeth are mostly not serious. Tooth staining can be whitish, yellow or brown. It can occur in children and adults. Your tooth is composed of different structures: enamel, dentin, dental pulp, root, cementum. In addition, the elements that are most involved in dental aesthetics are your enamel and dentin. The enamel of your tooth measures between 1 and 2 mm depending on the tooth and the position on the tooth. It is responsible for the good reflection of light rays. If this enamel is stained, it loses its transparency and its ability to correctly direct light rays, leading to a loss of radiance in your smile.
What tooth colors should I choose ?
There are many types of tooth shades. Choose the right shade of dental composite when restoring. Replace a tooth and select the shade that is closest to natural. This is not an easy task, and it is the responsibility of the dental technician. Prosthetic laboratories want to satisfy patients as much as possible. They use a color chart with 4 shades to know the color adapted to the patient's teeth. The prosthetist will then design a tooth model. The process consists of using porcelain ceramics based on the control shade tooth. The worked porcelain will make it possible to constitute the artificial tooth. The dental veneer must therefore be well worked.
Most patients want natural-colored teeth without going to a specialist. The choice of the porcelain color is the determining factor to have a precise white shade. The color of the glue used to attach the porcelain veneers is also a factor. A color guide will help you make the right choice of composite shades.
How to repair a tooth
Dental imperfections can be corrected by dentists. Adjacent teeth will be aligned. A dentist's office does all the work to restore teeth. Dentists will place veneers, implants or crowns. All restorations are done under local anesthesia. Making an appointment at a cosmetic dentistry will give you a new smile.
Dental care is generally reimbursed by your health insurance company. Check the case of your dental insurance. The dentist will take care of the dental repair or extraction as well as the installation of removable prostheses. So if you want to change your tooth shade, trust your dentist.
Which tool to know the dental shade ?
You should always maintain good dental hygiene so you don't have to constantly whiten your teeth. Brushing regularly and using mouthwash will help you avoid cavities and keep your teeth healthy. However, it is important to know your tooth shade. The spectrophotometer to define the exact color of your teeth. It is one of the best tools used for the dental color.
VITA Easyshade V : Spectrophotometer with LED light - Vita
This spectrophotometer is an instrument that uses spectrophotometry to measure the amount of light intensity absorbed after passing through a sample solution. It detects the color of natural and ceramic teeth quickly, accurately and reliably. With this instrument, you can plan bleaching and choose the right composite for direct filling treatments of CAD/CAM materials and veneers as well as dentures.
- The main features of this spectrophotometer are as follows:
- It accurately determines the color of your teeth
- It indicates bleached shades according to the ADA standard
- It has an ergonomic design and an intuitive use
- It has a bright OLED touch screen.
- It has a long battery life
- It has a Bluetooth interface for wireless communication via the VITA Assist PC software.
- It includes a practical application: VITA Mobile Assist
The different types of dental staining
External staining
External staining is due to the individual's lifestyle and concerns the entire dentition. In most cases: a dental polishing or a scaling
a scaling are enough to make them disappear. Your dentist can sometimes complete the session with an air polishing to give your smile back its brightness. Tooth whitening is the treatment for external tooth discoloration. The application of a whitening agent, hydrogen peroxide, inside a tray will restore your smile's brightness and eliminate all stains.
Localized staining
Localized staining concerns a single tooth that is affected by staining. In this case, the stains are not limited to the surface of the enamel. The staining affects both the enamel and dentin layers. It can be caused by tooth decay that needs to be treated by your dentist or it can be related to a tooth that has lost its luster. In this case, an internal bleaching of your pulped tooth can be considered by your dentist.
Generalized staining
It is possible that our teeth take on a singular color for no reason. In this case, it is the color of the dentin itself that is at fault. Dental veneers can be used to correct a discoloration of the dentin. These thin layers of ceramic or composite resins cover the outer surface of the teeth concerned. This type of treatment has the advantage of preserving your tooth, unlike prosthetic crowns, which cause more damage to your tooth.
the color of a prosthetic treatment
The neck is the part of the tooth that is below the gum line. It is colored because of a retraction of the gum. It concerns metal-ceramic crowns. The restoration of the crown is necessary by the use of a ceramic crown in zirconia. The translucent zirconia allows to bring natural reflections to the teeth. It is also a resistant material that offers a perfect longevity. You benefit from a precise result without risk of allergy.
The appointment at the dentist to gain in dental color
2 choices are possible for you according to your case:
The first choice
- The main objective of the first visit to the salon is to take your impressions in order to make a tray and determine the quantity of whitening gel to use according to the desired result and your dental sensitivity.
- The second visit is used to explain how to apply the gel in the trays using syringes. The trays are then worn at night for 5 to 6 weeks depending on the speed of discoloration and the patient's dental sensitivity.
The second choice
- The first appointment of control allows if the bleaching is possible, the work lasts 1 hour. First of all, a mouthpiece gives a frozen smile, then the dentist applies a paste to protect the sensitivity of the gums.
- Afterwards, you must do three sessions of gel application followed by 15 minutes under the blue lamp for a brilliant result.
Before your appointment at the dentist, it is important to remember to brush your teeth with a toothbrush that allows for effective brushing. This toothbrush can be the Y-Brush which is recommended by dentists and clinically validated. It is a toothbrush that brushes all the teeth and their face to allow to start to gain in whiteness.
We hope that this guide has helped you understand when it is important to change your tooth shade and how to make an appointment with your dentist to get a new tooth shade. In the best of cases, a tooth shade change should be done after a damaged tooth has been repaired. A good whitening allows you to gain a lot of dental color to have a good image of yourself. However, it is important to preserve the tooth enamel as much as possible by using a dentist who performs the procedure in the best conditions.
